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Cuban Travel Increases Markedly

I am making my 7th trip to Cuba in four years in
February, to visit family, and to attend the Havana International Book Fair
again.I began the efforts of making a
reservation a month before the Obama / Castro talks came to light.I was very surprised that most flights, three
months in the future, were full.I had
to try over and over to locate a flight that met my needs, and put me in Havana
when author Leonardo Padura would be speaking at UNEAC, (The Cuban author
organization).The possibility of
getting to Cuba is going to be harder and harder, unless flights increase.I have a friend who’s going on a cruise that
leaves from Jamaica and stops in various Cuba ports.

Here is an article from the Miami Herald about what the Cuba travel companies
think:

U.S.-Cuba travel business prepares for seismic shift

BY MIMI WHITEFIELDMWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM

12/23/2014 7:00 AM 12/23/2014 10:04 PM

The article starts like this:

“When news broke that Washington and Havana would be
renewing diplomatic relations, the phones at InsightCuba began ringing off the
hook with Americans interested in traveling to the island.

InsightCuba and other people-to-people providers, which are
licensed to organize trips to Cuba that promote engagement between Americans
and the Cuban people, anticipate more travel. But some providers say even
bigger changes are ahead — perhaps allowing authorized travelers to visit on
their own rather than only on an organized tour.

“It’s all a bit tentative because Treasury hasn’t come up
with the new travel regulations yet,” said John McAuliff, executive director of
the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, which has worked to end the U.S.
embargo since 1985. “But it’s clear in the language of the president’s
announcement that they’re talking about every American, not just organizations.
”

[Photo is of a hotel on El Prado in Havana called El Telegrafo, which I took in 2010.]